If there’s one tech company that completely “gets” the whole fair use thing, it’s Ion Audio. First they came out with the ITTUSB turntable which allows users to rip old vinyl albums (what are those?) to mp3 and now they have done with same thing for cassette tapes thanks to Tape 2 PC.

Now sure, audiophiles will say you can simply hook up your cassette player to your sound card’s RCA plugs and do the same thing, but you’d need a preamp (which the Tape2PC has built in) and how many PC sound cards come with RCA plug ins anymore? The Tape2PC is easy. Plug into your USB 2 port, install and run the open source Audacity recording software, hit play on the deck and record on Audacity and you’re on your way. Simple connections, simple recording. That’s the idea.

But is it simple in practice? Indeed it is. The most difficult part may be learning one’s way around the open source Audacity software (which detractors say is already available on the Internet) it takes some getting used to. But then again, it is free and it isn’t mandatory to use. If you have other audio capture software you prefer, the beauty of the Tape2PC system is, YOU CAN USE IT! (yes, Mac users, that means you too). But give it a try. Since most people will simply hit record and then save, the other more advanced features are largely irrelevant unless one wishes to learn them and that can happen over time. So therefore, Audacity is fine for the simplicity of ripping the cassette to mp3. Mac Users will run into the issue of needing to download additional software called EZ Tape Converter, but it’s available from Ion’s website. Then again, one could just plug the unit into the MAC and use Garage Band, couldn’t you?

Is the Tape 2 PC the best unit around? No. But it’s a good solid device for what it does. Sound quality is nominal, but then again, the vast majority of us don’t have the super hearing that could tell the difference between mp3 and lossless, so that isn’t really the point. The sound quality is excellent for the average iPod user and that’s good enough for me.

Audiophiles will already have their own solutions for ripping their favorite cassettes to lossless quality. But for the average user looking to save those precious mix tapes that the love of their life made in those magical 70s or 80s and play them on their iPod, the Ion Tape 2 PC is a one stop shop for getting them done.

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